Promised?
by isinkintohearts
Summary: Akira's been engaged to some businessman's son and she can't say no. She was told before the tests, and she keeps worrying. She tries to confess to Tadashi, and it doesn't work. Her grades drop dramatically. No one knows about her being engaged thou. 13!
1. I

A/N: Hey guys, this is my first S-A story. :D Please review if you like it. I might not update if you guys don't review. :D

It was a day before the three-day-exams for the third semester would start. Akira lay down on her bed, munching down sweet pastries while she studied about the history of literature. _We can study literature,_ she thought, _but why do we even have to know about its _history_?_ She picked up the other book, determined to study about Shakespeare's writings when suddenly her jacket pocket started to vibrate. Soon a song started to follow. _Rinne Rondo by On/Off,_ she thought as she smiled. She opened up the zipper to reveal her cellphone, vibrating while the song continued on and was getting awfully louder. She picked it up and pressed 'Answer'.

"Hello?"

"Akira, is that you?"

"Dad?" Akira was surprised. Her parents only called either to check on how she was doing, or to tell her something important.

"It's me, dear. I called to relay important news."

_Apparently, I was right._ she thought sarcastically. "What is it?"

"Alright, well dear, I suppose I have mentioned the Leggièri family in one of our conversations?" She sighed. Her dad has been telling her about them all the time, since their company was one of the biggest business companies in the world. It also happened that the second main branch of the Leggièri company is in Japan, and on one of Samuel Leggièri's business trips to Japan, her dad got to meet him and introduced her too. She sighed again. Business relations were always important, her dad told her over and over.

Wait, why did she keep sighing? It was getting pretty weird.

"Yes dad, why?"

"And I assume you know Leggièri's son too?"

"Uh.. well, actually, I don't-"

"Nevermind that. Samuel Leggièri's son Felicien has chosen you to be promised to their family!"

Akira sighed. It was obvious that this was just what her dad wanted to tell her all along. Then, as the message began to sink in, her eyes widened. _Promised?_ Didn't that mean... _getting engaged?!_

"Of course, you must understand that this will strengthen relationships between our little airline company and their company."

She didn't reply into the receiver—the news was taking a toll on her.

"Akira, dear?"

"Huh?"

"Are you still listening to me?"

"..Yes.."

Her dad didn't reply either—there was nothing much to discuss anymore after that piece of news was shared.

The silence was killing her, and finally she got the courage to ask: "D-dad, what if..."

"What if what?"

"Uh.." suddenly opposing to her dad in something he rejoiced about seemed scary.

"Tell me."

"What if.. what if I didn't want to be promised to them...?"

"Akira, darling, their family was the one who decided on this.. therefore you must understand that our family has no say in this.. and since they are the richer of us. Akira, you must meet Felicien immediately! I know you will grow to like him. We met after they decided this and we talked a while.."

Her dad's voice was slowly fading away, being drowned out by her thoughts and reactions.

Why did she have to be engaged to Leggièri's son? Since they are richer and probably have no need for their airline company [they're too rich, they can afford planes, she scoffed], Felicien must've picked her randomly or maybe he liked her. There was no other explanation.

"..And we discussed the topic about how he planned on taking over their business after his father. He is really charming, and I know he is good for you."

The silence must've been enough confirmation for her dad that she was probably unconsciously on the phone while she thought hard.

"Akira? Are you still there, honey?"

Her name being called snapped her back to reality. Then she realized the phone was in her hand and there was probably someone wanting to talk to her.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"It's not like you have someone you love there, right?"

Her thoughts brought her to some memories of _him_. But there was probably no way that he loved her back, since she'd been mean to him for as long as they've known each other. She had been selfish, and she beat him up, and she hurt him a lot, but never did he once complain. There was absolutely no way he shared her feelings.

"Uh... actually, no.."

"You are only to be engaged, love. Your marriage will be somewhere off in the future, after you finish your education. Worry not. Now, goodbye, Akira. There are some people I have to meet."

"G-goodbye.. Dad."

She snapped the phone shut, lay down on her comforting pillows, and thought about how she would stop this- _if_ she could.

[***]

A/N: How was it? Please tell me. :D And if you were wondering, Rinne Rondo is a song owned by On/Off. And yes, it is the starting song of Vampire Knight Guilty. Haha. ^^

Review! :D


	2. II

Well, here's chapter two. Tell me what `ya think. :D

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The clock kept ticking loudly in her head while she tried to clear her thoughts. This was the first examination, and she studied this last night, and even a few times before with Hikari during sleepovers. But why was she having memory block _NOW_? She glanced up at the clock. There was thirty more minutes before the exam ended. She was only about halfway through the test, and she had left some questions unanswered.

Well, the truth was, she was too worried and shocked last night after her father's call that she probably didn't really pay attention to what she was reading. Her mind was too full and preoccupied with thoughts of how some Italian guy she never knew [or met] had picked her to marry in the future. In _their_ future. Akira shuddered. The mere thought of her future with some faceless Italian guy was really freaking her out.

Then she remembered she was taking a test. _Shit. I don't remember any of this._ She skipped some more questions, and even just using educational guessing. She looked up at the clock. 20 minutes.

_I can do this, I can do this,_ she chanted as she took a deep breath and read the next question. Some of it she knew, some she could remember, some she wasn't sure of, some she went over and over again on but still couldn't find the right answer to. She found herself being immersed in a pool of questions she remembered reading but couldn't remember the right details to.

Come on, think straight... _You can't go any lower than sixth rank,_ she ordered herself. She began to focus a bit, but it would sometimes waver as she got paranoid over the ones she couldn't figure out.

Soon the bell rang.

"Time's up," the monitoring teacher announced. "Pass your papers forward."

"Akira, your paper?" Hikari asked. She was in front of Akira for the test.

"Wait, wait," she said as she guessed most of the ones she skipped. Then she hurriedly gave it to Hikari who looked concerned.

"Akira, did you finish the test..?"

"Yes, I did."

"..Are you sure?" Hikari gave her a look of disbelief and worry.

"Yes, Hikari, I did, don't look at me like that!"

Soon everyone's attention was on her.

"Akira?" Tadashi asked.

Before planning what she would do, Akira got up from her seat and walked out the door.

"Hey!" The teacher screamed, following her only until the classroom door. "Come back here, Miss Todou!"

But Akira decided she wouldn't look back this time.

-------------------------------------------------

A/N: YEAAAH, it's rushed, I know. It's just that I couldn't think of any more details to put in. Sorry if it's too short! :D

Anyways, don't forget to leave a review. :D


	3. III

_Hey guys. Review per chap, please. If you don't review, I won't finish the story. Ok? :]_

_`Love, Trixie. _

---

The doors to the greenhouse opened, but she didn't notice. Even as the six students went in through the doors, she continued looking up, unconsciously staring into space.

The others didn't want to approach her yet—maybe she had a problem, and they decided to give her space for now. Hikari would talk to her later.

Tadashi walked across the greenhouse and approached the lying figure on the sofa, noting that her eyes were open but she didn't seem to be looking anywhere in particular; spacing out was a better statement for it.

Wanting the heavy atmosphere to be lifted and to get Akira like she usually was, Tadashi said rather loudly, melting it with much sarcasm, "Hey, Akira, you do know that we have nothing to eat, right?" He closed his eyes, expecting a blow from her, but when she didn't, he opened them to stare at her. Her eyes blinked, adjusting to the light, as if she had just woken up. _Man,_ he thought, _whatever's wrong must be really bad if she continues spacing out like this._

She sat up and saw Tadashi standing there, realizing that he was probably speaking to her. "Uh, come again?"

"I said we have nothing to eat." Now that she was listening, she would hit him, right? _Right?_

Well, he was wrong.

"Yeah.." she said, standing up. "Thanks for reminding me, Tadashi. Tell the others I'm sorry for my tardiness." She got off the couch and made her way to the kitchen. Her attitude surprised him—she hadn't hit him or got annoyed with him once. And she was all about formality now.

Tadashi made his way to the table, where the other members of the SA were gathered.

"Did you talk to her?" Hikari's voice boomed over the awkward silence.

"Yeah, I did."

"And..?" Jun asked.

Tadashi sighed. "She seems out of it today. Anyway, she told me to tell you guys that she's sorry for her 'tardiness'." The emphasis in the word was clearly acknowledged by every one of them.

"She said that? 'Tardiness'?"

"Yeah, she pretty much did," he said, taking a seat opposite the empty seat where Akira usually sat. He sighed again, not looking at the faces staring intently at him now. He knew that they were just really concerned about Akira—he knew _he_ was too.

What was wrong with her? Was she having problems? And why was she not telling anyone?

_Maybe it's because she doesn't want to worry you guys about it,_ his mind told him.

Then he thought, _Wait, how can my mind asking the question be different from my mind answering the question? _He knew he should be thinking about Akira right now, and he knew the thought was completely and utterly random, but still, you know. He _wanted_ to know.

_Maybe those two voices are the same,_ it replied to him.

_Am I smart enough to answer my own questions? _He queried.

_Yes, you are,_ it responded. _The answers are right in front of you, waiting to be discovered._

_Wait—what is that supposed to—_

_They are simple truths that you yourself are not sure of, but somehow, a part of you is saying it is true. You answered your disbelief to the voice telling you those facts, and for that, it is stored behind, forgotten, and when you need it, you just might realize it too late._

_I really don't underst-_

It cut him off again_. You will. Think hard._

_Heyy! _He called._ I'm not done talking to you! _His thoughts screamed as the voice faded away.

He was about to scream another retort to the voice in his mind—who was probably him, anyway—when the smell of sweet pastries fluttered to him.

He looked up to it, seeing Akira approaching them, carrying a tray full of newly baked and fresh pastries. She distributed, leaving Hikari for last. When she put down her friend's food, she put a bit more and said, "Gomen, Hikari. Please forgive me for how I acted earlier," she said, bowing her head down.

"Don't worry about it, Akira." Hikari said, and as she lifted her head, she was greeted by the girl's usual smile and cheeriness. "And if anything's the matter, remember, you always have us," Hikari added.

Akira looked around at the faces smiling up at her in this room. _It's good to know there's still a little bit of happiness for me in this world,_ she thought as she smiled back at the people around, the ones she can really call her friends.

---

_Is it ok? :] Remember what I said about reviews! :]_


	4. IV

A/N: Hey, sorry if I updated a bit late!

Thanks to Yellow Rose of the Briar, kokoko16, and pshycotichypnoticXD for reviewing.

And to Yellow Rose of the Briar and Zlobarinka who put this on story alert. :D

And to pshycotichypnoticXD for favourite-ing this. :)

Well, here's chapter four then! :)

--

_Everything's fine now, _thought Akira. But little did she know that what she had just said was about to be proven wrong soon.

--

Hikari had said that if she needed anything, Akira should come to her. But she didn't know if she should tell them about the whole 'being promised' thing going on.

Akira's thoughts wandered to the three-day examination that just ended today. Those first three tests on the first day of examinations were like hell for her. The subjects were science, english, and then there was the practical exam for Home Economics.

She was sure she'd get a decent grade for home economics. It was just science and english she wasn't sure about.

She'd studied it—well, not exactly studied, but still, she read it anyway. She was just so out of focus that day about the getting engaged thing that she just scanned everything and didn't care anymore.

Then a thought came to her—she sat up abruptly on her bed.

What if, when the results came out, she wouldn't be in the SA anymore?

She got a bad feeling, but brushed it off and let sleep consume her.

--

Saturday morning, 6:57 AM.

_Kiss kiss fall in love. Maybe you're my love._

The phone was vibrating on her bedside table, making noise as it vibarated loudly on the wood.

_Who could be calling this early?_ She thought.

She pressed answer.

"Hello?" she said sleepily.

"Akira, Akira!" The voice called out to her.

_Oh yeah, Sakura Kiss is my ringtone for Hikari_, she thought again.

"Hikari? Why'd you call this early?"

"Oh, did I wake you? Gomen, Akira~!"

"It's fine. What's up?"

"Yahiro just invited the whole SA to a beach trip for the weekend! See, his dad seems to own some resort nearby, and he says it's new, and he invited the SA to go."

"Oh, okay."

"Will you come?"

Akira thought about that. "Who else is sure of coming?"

"Everyone is, and Sakura's coming too," Hikari replied. "And oh, Finn will be there too." Akira noticed that her voice was too cheery, considering that it was only about 7 o clock.

"Sounds fun. Shall we meet at the greenhouse?"

"Ok then. Meet at two?"

"Sure."

"Bye~!"

"Bye."

She put down the phone, put it on silent, and decided to sleep once again.

--

She woke up again at nine.

She woke up due to the impossibility of the dream she just had.

In that dream, she was watching the sunset while Hikari challenged Takishima, Ryuu was with Finn, Sakura was joking with Jun, and Yahiro was teasing Megumi.

But she wasn't alone at that.

Tadashi was beside her.

"The sunset's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Akira said with a smile.

Leaning in, he whispered, "Akira, I.."

Then she woke up.

And her heart was fluttering way too loud, too.

What a stupid dream, she forced herself to think.

Not to mention that she enjoyed it.

If only... that dream was true.

--

A/N: How was it ? :] Rate and review. XP

Review, and I shall update soon. :]

The next chap will be about the whole beach trip. And ooh, more Akira/Tadashi scenes. ;]

`xoxo, Trixie. ;]


	5. V

A/N: Hey, Trixie here. Sorry for not updating earlier. I didn't know what to put. ;]

But don't worry. This story, I promise, I will finish. _If _you people review. :D

Well, here's chapter five. Five, right? :)

--

As said, Akira was at the greenhouse by two. Everyone was there, and they were just waiting for Yahiro and Sakura to come.

"Wow, a beach trip with everyone!" Finn said, barely containing her excitement. "This should be fun!"

Ryuu blushed at the thought of Finn in girls' swimwear.

"Why are you so red, Ryuu-nii-san?" asked Jun.

"Are you ok, Ryuu-nii-san?" wrote Megumi.

"I'm fine, thanks, Jun, Megumi," he said, brushing the thought away.

Then the sound of a car was heard—everyone raised their head up to look at the car arriving.

It was one of Yahiro's limousines.

The car screeched to a halt, and out came Sakura with Yahiro behind her.

"So, are you guys ready?" Sakura smiled brightly. Then she weaved herself to Jun's right arm. "Are you ready, Jun-kun?" she smiled again.

"Uh, yeah," he said, looking away, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks.

"Let's get in the car, then," said Yahiro, leading everyone to the car.

--

"Wow, what a nice view!" Hikari exclaimed as she got out of the car, looking over at the scene.

"Yeah." Takishima said, standing beside her.

They looked at each other and in that look they shared something—too bad Akira saw it, though.

"Kei, what are you staring at Hikari for?" she said defensively. "You're hypnotizing her, aren't you?!"

Akira started hitting Kei, whose scary aura started spreading around.

Hikari smiled to herself. This was gonna be a long weekend.

--

At about four PM, everybody was at the small house where anyone was welcome to eat. It was in the resort, of course.

Akira sat down beside Hikari who was reading a magazine. She was glad she didn't have to cook—well, of course, she'd wanted to cook for herself and her friends, but thinking of Tadashi made her think otherwise.

Hikari jumped on her seat and shoved a magazine into Akira's face.

"Akira, Akira!"

"Yes, Hikari?"

"It's a love quiz," Hikari said and Akira looked down to see that it was indeed a love quiz. "Can you take the quiz?"

"Okay, but...why?"

"Nothing. I just wanted someone to take the quiz before I do." She said, flashing her trademark smile in Akira's face.

Akira felt a smile creep on her face. She would always be cheered up by Hikari, even when she didn't try.

"Okay then. I will."

It was one of those quizzes where one answer connected to another question. And your answer to the other question leads to another question. It goes on till the end, where an answer connects to one of the results.

_Is it love?_ The heading said.

First question: Are you inlove?

_Haha,_ she thought. _Stupid question for a love quiz. _

She scanned the choices. Yes!, Just crushing., and I don't know. She chose I don't know. _I just took the quiz for Hikari anyway. And it's just a quiz. It's not accurate._

She led her finger from the choice to the next question it led to.

"'I don't know'?" Hikari asked, genuine curiousity plastered on her cute face.

"Next question," Akira said, ignoring Hikari's questioning look. She read aloud, "'Whoever he is, do you dream of him?'" she looked at Hikari. "How am I supposed to know? I don't even know who 'he' is."

"Oh yeah, you don't.." Hikari said sarcastically. She leaned in and whispered silently, "Isn't it Tadashi?"

Akira's eyes widened at that. "No, it's not!"

"Well, let's just use him for now, then. It's just a quiz." Hikari smiled. But Akira knew she was probably grinning evilly inside. _Oh, Kei, what have you done to her?!_

Hikari was waiting, smiling at her. _I'll get you later, Kei._

The choices for the question were: Yes! Always :x, Once or twice, and No, never.

She moved her hand over 'Once or twice', remembering the dream she had earlier. She brushed it away, though, remembering what would've happened in the dream if she hadn't woken up.

"Ooh, you've dreamed of him?" Hikari's voice asked again. "What were you two doing in that dream?" once again there was an evil glint in her eyes.

_Kei, I will kill you. I swear._

"It was an SA trip. Everyone was there." The lie easily got out her mouth as she eyed Hikari suspiciously. "What were _you _thinking?"

Hikari's eyes widened. "Nothing, nothing!" She said as she waved her hands in front of her. _She's lying._ Thought Akira. _Kei. You're dead._

Hikari watched again as Akira's hand slid to the next question_. Do you act differently around him?_ The choices were _Sometimes, `cuz it's awkward; Not really—he's my friend; No! We're comfortable around each other!_

She chose 'Not really—he's my friend'. Hikari nodded, still watching Akira quiz herself.

Fortunately for Akira, that choice already led to a result. She led her hand to it and started reading aloud.

"CRUSHING.

Maybe you're not sure yet if you really like him. You treat it indifferently—cuz it's just a crush. Nothing else but a crush. Unless you take it to the next level."

Hikari was wide-eyed as she looked at Akira. "Just a crush? Wow."

"PSHHH. This quiz is stupid anyway," Akira said, taking Hikari's arm. "There's no point in you taking it. I mean, I don't even like the guy! There's no accuracy to this."

A soft tinkling sound was heard and they whipped their head around to look. "The food is ready, Ma'ams, Sirs," some guy said, putting down all the food from the tray onto the table.

"Let's eat!" Tadashi said, the first to sit down. Everyone gathered on the table and soon Hikari and Akira followed.

_Nothing but a crush._ She thought.

--

A/N: Sorry, I think I have to delay the Akira/Tadashi scene. I'm so sorry! Please forgive me.

And it was kinda rushed. I know. I just didn't feel like putting much details into it.

Review, review. `Kay? :)

xoxo, Trixie.


	6. VI

A/N: I know I haven't updated for so long, and for that I'm sorry! I hope you don't lose interest in the story. Please, please, no.

And i'm sorry the chap can't be longer that it is. I will try to update soon. It's just school and all~!

--

After eating, everyone agreed on taking a dip on the beach. The girls went to their shared room and decided to get ready and change into their swimsuits.

"Hey Akira," Hikari said as she lathered the sunblock on her skin. "I took the test. It said I was in love." Akira looked up to see Hikari, obviously panicking out.

"With who, Hikari-chan?"

Hikari hesitated and released a deep breath. "Takishima."

Akira, not wanting to believe it, said, "No way, Hikari. Didn't I just tell you not to take the test? Whoever made that is obviously not in the right mind...and you don't think you love him, do you?" she questioned. She was trying to get Hikari to doubt this so-called 'love' for Takishima.

"Uh.. I.. I don't know," she said nervously, looking around.

"Hmph," Akira huffed as she got up and held Hikari's hand. "It's probably _just a crush_," she said, rephrasing what she got earlier in the quiz. _The stupid, lying quiz,_ she added in her mind.

"Hey Sakura, Finn, Megumi," she called out, looking back. "Shall we go to the beach?" the girls looked up and followed as Akira and Hikari led the way to the waiting seashore.

--

Akira had tried making sandcastles, and she admits, it was pretty good, just that she wasn't that patient with wet sand much.

"Whoa. Nice work, Akira," Tadashi said, as he passed by her on the shore, wearing something like a lifeguard's uniform. She looked up at him, seeing his face, and smiled. "Thanks." She said. Tadashi waved her goodbye as he proceeded to the waters. She waved back, smiling all the way. She looked down at the sandcastle she was half-finished making. She decided not to move or change anything anymore—she liked it this way. Well, someone else liked it this way too, she added to her thoughts as she got up and left the sandcastle, with a small note written in front—_Mine, Akira.3 _She walked to the waters, calling out, "Hikari!" as she got into the beach waters as well.

--

"Akira~" Hikari started. Akira stopped exploring the seafloor for shells and looked up at her friend, whose distress was evident on her face. Akira would hug her tight and say, 'What's wrong, Hikari-chan? Don't let such expressions cross your cute face~,' but Akira knew something was really wrong. She couldn't let this pass by so easily.

"Hikari.. what's wrong?" she straightened up, holding the shells on her left hand. Hikari stopped sitting too and got up, concerned crossing her features once again.

"How come you seem sadder, Akira? You're still kinda the same, just..sad. What's wrong?" The both of them were now staring into each others' eyes, Hikari's with concern and Akira's with something Hikari couldn't understand. _Just what is going on?_ She thought to herself. "Does...does it have something to do with you acting weird during the first exam day?"

Akira got sadder. She didn't want to tell Hikari, and surely worry her friends, but she knew she couldn't hide it any longer. If she didn't say anything now, would she ever get the courage to tell them when the time came? Her father assured her that it would be far along the future, but still, knowing about what would be in her future was creepy and scary.

--

Tadashi, Ryuu and Takishima were making an attempt at a sandcastle. Tadashi got kinda envious of Akira's work, and wanted to do something for her..maybe even dedicate it all for her. But, so that nothing was too obvious, he got Ryuu to join in and Takishima to..uh..I guess, join in. [But he wasn't doing anything much, as usual.. but at least his mood seemed better than usual ;)]

Tadashi looked over at the waters, and saw Akira and Hikari stand up from their searching. It seemed the two were serious, and it was such an unusual sight that Tadashi just had to go and tell the others.

"Hey, Kei, Ryuu," he said, quietly pointing to the two girls. "What's up with those two?" the two guys, together with Tadashi looked up at them talking.

"They're just talking." Kei said, looking away, bored out of his mind. He only had fun when he had Hikari to play in the waters. [Ooh, what thoughts do Takishima bring? Heehee. Joking. Don't think up stuff now.]

"Yeah, but it's pretty serious," Tadashi said, still staring.

"Well, they just probably needed to talk to each other about something." Ryuu said. He turned back his attention on the sandcastle, setting another bucket down.

--

"Hey, you two!" someone screamed from the shore. The tense atmosphere Hikari and Akira shared disappeared, and both girls looked over at Tadashi who was waving his arms like an idiot.

"Don't be so tense over there! It's not always we're on the beach together," he smiled.

Akira let out a quiet sigh of relief. She was kind disappointed at Tadashi for ruining the moment. She was just thinking if she should've told Hikari some stuff. She should know, anyway. She was Akira's bestest friend. But, inside, she was kinda glad too. She didn't think she should tell anyone yet. She might just stop it—might. And like her father said, it was still in the future. Everything can change in a single moment, they say.

"Let's stop this tense conversation, Hikari-chan~~" she took Hikari's left hand, Akira's left still holding the shells she had collected. Hikari walked along with her, still feeling sad. _Is Akira hiding something from me_? She thought. She didn't want to force it out of Akira—she knew Akira had some stuff she wanted to keep to herself. But she wanted to help so bad. She couldn't just stand there, doing nothing.

_I will help you, Akira._

_Thanks, Tadashi._

--

A/N: Oh, I don't own SA, by the way. Just this story's plot. :]

Review. I'll try to update tomorrow, if possible, if I don't have much homework. Thanks.

`Trixie.

And oh, if you don't get it, the last line is Akira's thought, while the one before that is Hikari's. Review please. ;]


	7. VII

A/N: Kinda OOC, I know. Sorry for that. I'm just not that good.

Again, I apologize.

And sorry again for not updating any sooner. My mom set up these suckish rules that I can only use the internet on Fridays. That means I can only update every week. I'll try to sneak this, though. :)

--

*Tadashi POV.

The two girls looked too serious for a _beach trip_, and that's why I interrupted their talk. Speaking of which, what was that talk about..?

Since I had interrupted that talk of theirs, I've been watching Akira. The reason being, that I think she looked sadder.

I watched her as she walked along the shore, playing with Hikari. She would laugh every once in a while, and smile.

She'd also be all defensive of Hikari when Kei was around. She wasted time with them, playing on the sand.

She talked to Megumi and Jun, asking which one of them would like to play with them. Both said yes and joined in with them.

She asked me, saying it wouldn't be complete if one was missing. I agreed wholeheartedly, standing up from where I lay down and getting up. I went over to where they were all gathered together.

Apparently, Takishima had this idea for a challenge for him to beat Hikari..again...but, Hikari thought it would be fun if everyone was playing along.

Whoa. This is the first time Takishima had thought of challenging Hikari.

`Cuz everyone was used to it being the other way around.

Hikari explained the rules. Everyone was to be in two groups [well, of _course_]. It is simple, really. You just have to have more shells that the other group. So we just had to find shells.

Kei, Jun, Ryuu, Sakura, and I were teammates. The others were in Hikari's team. And so it started.

--

Naturally, Kei won. Before the game even started, didn't we all know he would win?

So I continued laying on the sand, watching Akira.

I wasn't like a stalker, I swear. I just watched her. She seemed...different. Sadder, as I said earlier.

Everytime she smiled, or giggled, or laughed, it was fake. Just simply..fake.

It didn't sound happy at all.

I know I wasn't the only one who noticed—Kei did too.

But he didn't do anything about it...he'd probably talk to her later.

It's unbelievable how twisted those two's friendship became. They [together with Yahiro] were like super best buds. And now they're just plain distant. I only know Yahiro's story—the whole 'Don't be friends with them' thing he was doing. I understand that, since he really was a greedy jerk then. I don't know if he's still like that now.

I don't know what's with Akira and Kei though. Sure, they talk to each other sometimes, but it's not the same like before..I think. I mean, they were _playmates. _Childhood friends is a better way to say that.

Well, anyway, I'll try to talk to her later.

It's still kinda got me creeped out that she was acting weird. She rarely did that, and if she did, it meant she had some problem.

So that's it then.

Some kind of problem.

I don't like seeing Akira sad. Anyone in general, actually. But seeing Akira sad makes me sad too.

Sorry, it sounds like those mushy crap lovers think, right?

But honestly, it does feel that way.

--

*Akira POV.

Soon, the sun was already setting. I sat in the middle of the sandy shore, watching the sun's reflection on the waters. It was really beautiful. It was calming. It was so..peaceful. And serene. And it relaxed me a bit.

I'm tired of pretending to be happy. Not in a I-don't-want-this-anymore way, but more of a my-face-muscles-are-hurting way. I meant that literally, not like in those break-up quotes.

But I guess, I really am tired of this. Now, in that break-up way. But not because of break-up.. duh. Because of the whole Akira-you're-promised-to-some-Italian-guy thing. It's hard to get happiness when things don't go your way, right?

A person is supposed to earn happiness on his own. How do I earn happiness in this situation? `Cuz I know _for a fact_ that pretending to be happy and giggling weird is _not _happiness.

I say, don't try it. It doesn't feel good. It feels _horrible_.

So, I continue to watch the sky. It turns a darker shade of orange, with pink way up there. I love watching the sky. It's really beautiful and incredible. The clouds and the colors all mix together to make it look perfect, every single day.

I can't look perfect every single day.

And for that, I slightly envy that aspect of the sky.

I was too caught up in my emo-ish thoughts that I didn't notice someone was walking towards me. Well, I noticed _now._

"Hey, Akira," this person says as he settles in beside me. I turn my head around to see.

It's Tadashi.

I don't respond, and we watch the sky and it's reflection on the shiny ocean's waters in silence. Comfortable silence, at least.

"Akira." He says again after a while. I wait for him to say any more, but he doesn't, and I look at him, waiting for the continuation of his words.

"Is anything wrong?"

Oh great. Just when I had relaxed myself and had some dose of my self-made biography of my thoughts.

I guess I spaced out a bit, `cuz he said, "Talk to me."

The way he says it makes me want to really tell him. He sounds so nice, so sincere, so..trustworthy. Not that I don't trust him, I do, really. It's just that most of the time, it's Hikari I'm with.

Then I'm reminded of Hikari. How do I explain to her? Or should I go on pretending nothing's wrong and distracting her when the topic comes up once again? I don't want to be running away from her questions any more.

I look up at him. In the eyes this time. He really does seem sincere. I don't see the concern and worry I saw in Hikari's eyes. And most of all, I don't see pity.

He's talking to me as a friend.

Oh, he can be so nice.

Should I tell him now?

--

*Tadashi POV.

She looks up at me. In the eyes, now. So I look back. It takes a while. I guess she's looking for something there?

She looks like she's thinking hard too. It's so obvious in her eyes.

I don't wanna ruin the moment, but she's so beautiful.

And so close, too.

I lean in slowly.

I close my eyes, of course.

I don't know if she's doing the same.

--

*Akira POV.

He's leaning towards me.

Unconsciously, I lean in slowly, too. I don't know if I should, but it feels the right thing to do right now.

And I don't have much time to think it over, right?

.....

"MA'AMS, SIRS," someone's voice says aloud.

"HEY," another's says. I recognize that as Yahiro's.

--

*Tadashi POV.

Someone says something out loud. And Yahiro's voice says something too.

I open my eyes, and I see Akira's face in front of me.

Was she leaning in too?

Wow. I don't know how to feel.

Yahiro's voice speaks again. "Get out of there already. The early dinner's ready."

I look back at Akira, who's blushing like a tomato. I think I am, too, feeling the heat rush through my cheeks.

She gets up, walks a bit, and says, "Aren't you coming?"

I smile to myself. I see nothing has changed.

I walk over, following her.

_Way to ruin the moment, Yahiro._

A/N: How was it? I hope it was okay.

Yay, more Akira/Tadashi. I feel good posting that up. :)

Reviews are appreciated. I promise.

Review! -:bd

`Trixie. ;]


	8. VIII

A/N: I totally forgot to mention Michael Jackson. I'm sorry.

May he rest in peace now.

Thanks again to reviewers.

And oh. This is an extra chap. Akira's POV. :)

--

I can't believe I almost kissed him.

I mean, he leaned in, and...what could I do? Don't blame me.

It'd be rude to...It would be rude not to respond.

Uh...did that sound weird?

I'm new to this.

Wait, forget I said that.

Now I'm real sure I shouldn't go on with the promised thing. Because...there just might be guys out there who's...the one.

I know it sounds like crap. I'm sorry for that.

It's just..*sigh*. When we watched the sun set together, and his eyes looked sincere, and he leaned in...It felt kinda good.

Wow, Akira's admitting. Everyone hear this out.

It felt like...ecstasy. My heart was beating real fast, jumping out of my chest...and my face was heating red. But the butterflies in my stomach felt good. Everything about it was wonderful—plainly perfect. Just the way I wanted it to be.

I can't explain it... But everything adds up to just one word—perfect.

I can't believe I'm thinking this.

But..that's all I can say about it.

Perfect.

--

A/N: I felt like putting up a bonus chapter. I don't know when I'll update, since my mom put up the rules. And school's full of homework. :P

Have fun. :)

`Trixie.


	9. IX

Akira wanted to cook that day, and so they let her.

It was the last day of their stay in the resort, anyway.

It seemed to Akira that nothing had changed—everyone was laughing and together, Sakura was still obsessed with Jun, and Hikari seemed her same cheery self as usual.

`Cuz if just one of those were missing, it might've meant chaos for the world.

..And her relationship with the superhuman eater were still okay. Still friends, still the same. After that incident, everything was back to normal, and just that filled her with relief. No awkwardness at all.

"Hey Akira, are you done with those cookies?" Tadashi's booming voice suddenly said as he came nearer to Akira. Akira, freaking out that he might come too close, got out a hot cookie with her cooking gloves on and threw it to Tadashi.

"Ow, ow, that hurt!" Tadashi said, his body wiggling as he struggled to get the cookie _down_, as it got into his shirt. Too bad for him, though, those cookies were hot from the oven.

She laughed a short, cruel, and forcefully evil laugh, and continued her baking as she turned away from Tadashi.

_I am acting so weird! I thought there was no awkwardness! He won't attempt to do that again! It's all his fault!_

She actually blamed him for her weird paranoia.

"You're being mean, bear-woman," he said before he closed the door behind him.

"What did you say!?" Akira screamed, abandoning the cookies and going after him.

"Wha—No, get away! Someone help me!"

The SA, who were just an audience to what was happening, watched for a moment, then continued on doing their stuff and ignoring the two.

--

And, as soon as it started, the vacation came to an end, and so did the weekend.

Akira tried not to fill her head with unnecessary thoughts, working hard like how Hikari does for Takishima for once.

She couldn't stop thinking about how self-conscious she's been around..him. Sure, things were normal, but, okay, it was pretty awkward.

For her, at least.

_It probably isn't awkward for him. Is it just me overacting?_ She thought quietly to herself.

Why was he making her_ feel_ this way? She needed to know. Because, one, it was just pretty weird. And two, she didn't want things to be awkward between them. Or, awkward, in her point of view.

_It was his fault for trying to kiss me! _

Then it sunk in.

_He was trying to kiss me!? How could I not know!?_

Selfish of him.

_Why was he trying to..?_

_What were we even talking about then?_

She tried to remember real badly, but her memory failed her now.

_All I know is that we watched the sunset._

_Then Yahiro called out._

Her hand hit her forehead, frustrated, as she tried to remember anything else..any conversation going on at that moment.

_Shit, why memory block now?!_

She remembered another picture, one of him real close to her face as she watched him with wide eyes.

_Probably after he leaned in,_ she thought.

Well, he probably didn't say anything disgusting like 'Kiss me babe' or any of the sort. She shuddered as her mind pictured a gang member Tadashi, smoking and saying something like, 'Kiss me'. _Eww._

As she lay on her soft and inviting bed, she felt her eyelids droop as her head fell back onto the comforting pillow. She sat up quickly, trying to get out of that sleepy daze, trying to remember anything she had been thinking about the moment before.

_Memory block? _

_Well, since I don't remember anything, it isn't such a bad idea to get some sleep then.._she thought, as she drifted off to sleep.

--

Saa setsunai na kono magira shiawase no furi wo shiteita.

Akira sat up, turning off the alarm before the song could get any louder. She glanced at the clock. 6:15.

She looked down. The blanket was all wrapped around her, like a cocoon. She remembered dreaming, but it was kinda hazy and she wasn't sure what it was, but it involved the SA, a beach trip, and watching the sunset with Tadashi.

_Haha. It was giving me a rundown of what happened last weekend. Cool, then. :)_

She got up and fixed up her bed. Even if she had others that could do that for her, she didn't want to trouble them by messing up her stuff more. She knew they were working hard enough already. The blanket was quite a fight, though. She had this real thick blanket and it was real big. Fixing it up herself was quite a chore, but doable anyway, so that was fine for her.

She showered, got into her clothes and looked in the mirror. She looked decent enough for her liking, and so she got her bag and got into the limo that waited for her outside.

As she got in, she felt kinda queasy. It was an uneasy feeling, making her nervous. What's wrong? She asked herself. There wasn't anything wrong with her, she knew. But it felt like she didn't want to go to school. She didn't want to, it felt like something was pulling her back.

She didn't understand why she'd feel this way either. There's nothing wrong with school—it's just the SA anyway, and spending time in the greenhouse.

She ignored the feeling, still warning her quietly, and told her driver to bring her to school.


	10. X

A/N: LALALA. Pretty short, yeah, I know. But had to update. So..sorry for the wait then. Here's the ninth chap :]

--

The car came to a halt.

"Thank you," she said as she opened the door and got off the car. She watched as it went away, getting smaller and smaller before fading.

A gentle breeze passed through, making the trees sound as the air passed through the leaves and as the leaves fell down one by one.

"Akira!"

She turned around to face the person.

It was Hikari.

"Akira!" she called out again, waving her hands in the air. Akira smiled and waved back. "Hey Hikari!"

When Hikari was already where Akira stood, she said, "You're pretty late—is anything wrong?" Akira looked over at Hikari. "No, nothing at all," she said. It was true, really. She ignored the butterflies in her stomach—must mean nothing, anyway. She smiled at Hikari, who smiled back. "Shall we go in then?" Hikari asked. "Sure," Akira replied, and the two walked the path to the greenhouse together.

--

The girls got inside the greenhouse, attracting the stares of everyone. "Good morning!" Hikari said, cheery as usual. "Good morning," the others replied to her with smiles gracing their faces. Tadashi, lying on the couch, said, "Hey Akira. You're late today." Akira looked over at him. "I know. So?" she raised her eyebrows up. Inside, Tadashi smiled to himself. _That's the Akira I know._

Akira and Hikari dropped what they were holding and Akira proceeded to the kitchen when she saw Hikari in a hurry to walk out the greenhouse.

"Hikari, where you heading?" Everybody wasn't minding Hikari anymore—they knew what she was up to. Apparently, Akira didn't, so.

"I'm going to see if the ranking results are up," she said, the excitement in her voice and clearly seen in her face. "Coming with?" Akira temporarily forgot everything and grabbed Hikari's hand. "Yeah," and both girls walked out the greenhouse, one excited with everything she's got, the other wanting to know but nervous to find out.

As Hikari walked along Akira on the path connecting to the main school (where the other classes were, btw), she wondered. So she decided to ask.

"Hey Akira.." Akira glanced at her. "What?"

"Why are you with me today?"

Akira slightly felt hurt. "Don't you want me here?" she got disheartened and thought about going back.

"No! It's not that, it's just that..usually I'm alone when I go take a look at the rankings," Hikari said. Akira nodded as she understood. "Oh. Sorry Hikari-chaaan~" Akira said as she hugged Hikari.

"Yuri!"

"I thought she was with Kei."

"I thought _she_ was with Tadashi."

The two stopped hugging and looked at those who whispered._ Shameless bitches._

Akira faced them eagerly. "Why yes, I love Hikari-chan. Is that something to be scandalized about?" Hikari kept her mouth shut, not understanding what was going on, looking from Akira to the girl. "And if you need to know—This is_ not_ yuri." Akira flashed them a big grin which looked both sincere and sarcastic. The two continued to walk through the path, ignoring everyone, forgetting everything. Another breeze passed through them, which Akira loved to feel on her face It relaxed her, and she always liked the cold.

"Akira, what were those girls talking about earlier?" Hikari asked Akira with such an innocent expression on her angelic face. "Nothing, Hikari," Akira said, smiling again. "Nothing to worry about, at least."

--

The two of them stared into nothing, dumbfounded.

It seems the results weren't out yet.

And as far as they knew, the students were also talking about it.

"Where's the rank list already?"

"Shouldn't it be out, like, _now_?"

"It's not out yet?" Akira said, breaking their silence. Hikari sighed, turning to her. "Yeah." It seems the both of them were just as disappointed as the other students also waiting.

"Aww, wanted to see if any of the SAs have gone lower," a passing voice said. Akira whipped her head around to look for the voice, but all she saw was a girl's retreating figure as she laughed along with her friends. She did nothing but watched the girl walk away. I mean, what was she to do anyway? Another gust of wind blew, and she looked up at the sky as it darkened. _Guess it might rain._

--

The two walked back to the SA's greenhouse. The doors opened and everyone looked up to see the girls. It was creepy, feeling their sad aura spread around.

"Anything wrong with the rankings?" Ryuu asked, nervous. He didn't want the answer to that.

"No," Hikari said quietly. Everyone sighed quietly in relief. But why were the girls still all…uh, depressed?

"The results haven't come out yet," Akira said, answering everyone's question.

--

Halfway through the day, at lunch period, everyone had forgotten all about the rankings. Everyone except Akira. She forced herself to forget though, by cooking the most complex foods she could think of. (Tadashi had a lot of fun with that.)

It hadn't rained though, like Akira predicted. The skies were still dark and gloomy, but not a single drop had fallen to the floor.

The greenhouse's doors suddenly banged open to reveal Hikari, desperately trying to catch her breath. She looked as if she'd been running.

"*pant* The *pant pant* results *pant* came out," she said, still breathless.

Every head turned to Hikari, who was still breathless—they stared at her, both in fear and pity. Why else would Hikari run so hard? Was something wrong?

Takishima came forward, and helped Hikari to a seat. "So, any changes in the ranking?"

Hikari stared at Takishima for a moment, looking scared.

"Akira's tenth."

--

A/N: WAHAHAHA. Cliffhanger, right? =)) Sorry. But anyway, review lots. I'll update soon if you do. :]


	11. AN

Hey, guys! I'm back. I'm really sorry I've ignored the story for so long – I mean honestly, I last updated this story in '09 and now the year's '11. I've been pretty busy with school, being a high school freshman. (And no, I'm not 15. Here in the Philippines, we start high school by 13.) But I guess my hard work's payed off because out of the 210 students in my batch, I'm currently third in academics and fifth in deportment. Which would make me stand in Jun's place. Okay, enough of that.

I'm really sorry. I reread SA, and, looking back at this story, it really makes me guilty because I had some pretty awesome reviewers, and that's you guys. I just suddenly abandoned the story, and what's much worse is, I did it on a cliffhanger. Letting you guys down is really unexcusable. But if you want me to, _I will make it up to you and I will continue this story_. I'll just update slower, is all. So do you guys forgive me? Do you want me to continue the story?

Please review.

Sincerely,

Trixie


	12. XI

Akira dropped her tray of snacks and the glass came shattering down, the metal tray following with a loud _clang. _Everyone turned to look at her, their shocked silence and worried faces frightening her. "I'm sorry," in a whisper, barely hearable above the deafening silence. She forced a smile on her face and told them: "I'll just – I'll just make a new batch." She hurriedly crouched down to gather the dirty pastries.

"Let me help you," a voice told her, and she knew right away that it was Tadashi. "No," she half-whispered, bowing her head further and trying to do the task faster. She could feel warm tears on her face, and she wanted nothing but to get away from their watching eyes. She gathered the broken glass as fast as she could, making the most horrible sound as it scratched the floor and making her hands bleed. "Akira –" he started, trying to hold her hands to stop her, but no, no, she wasn't going to look into his eyes and let him see her like this. She tightened her grip on the tray, feeling pain shoot up her arms. She pulled her hands away from his, stood up, and swiftly left.

"Akira!" he called again, but she ignored him, and they all, in silence, watched her back disappear into her one and only haven: the kitchen.

"Stupid, stupid," she told herself, washing the blood out of her hands. "Causing everyone trouble…breaking down like that…" She could feel her open wounds screaming in pain, but she didn't really care, and it wasn't like she kept a first aid kit in the kitchen.

She wiped her hands on her pink apron, stopping to wipe her tears on her arms, trying to make them stop. Her eyes spotted the flour and eggs, reminding her of what she had to do, and she calmly started on the pastries again, her tears falling into the mix.

She felt so stupid, crying. Why was she even crying? Because she'd fallen into tenth place? Why, Hikari fell into thirteenth place not long ago, and Akira certainly didn't see her crying. And yet here she was, bawling her eyes out, her eyes blurring her vision, making it harder to see when she should be focusing on making her friends delicious foods that they would be able to eat together, happily. And the image made her tears fall faster, because she wasn't happy, and she wasn't going to pretend she was.

"Akira."

It was him again, his calm, assuring voice floating their way to her. Thank God her back was turned to him. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and when she felt calm enough, she replied. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was gruff and dry, making it obvious that she had previously been bawling her eyes out. She hated it. She hated anyone seeing her down. She hated being seen as…_vulnerable_.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

His words sparked something in her, and before she knew it, her tears started cascading down her cheeks again. She held the edge of the sink to steady herself, trying to stop her tears and failing.

"Akira," he called again, and she could feel him coming nearer, his body so near hers that it gave her shivers. She was surprised when he grabbed her arm. He had turned her around completely, so that she was facing him, before engulfing her in a hug and pressing her face into his chest. "It's okay," he said soothingly.

"N-no," she said weakly, trying to push herself away from him.

"Shh," he murmured, pulling her back gently.

And they stayed like that for a long time, Tadashi stroking her hair, not knowing what else to do to bring her comfort, and Akira crying her heart out, for the obvious reasons, and for the things she couldn't say.

* * *

Akira held on to Tadashi's shoulders and peeled herself off of him, steadying herself. Her body felt like lead, and it was dragging her down.

"Come with me," he said, removing her hold on his shoulders. He gently tugged on her arms, smiling like he always was.

"N-no…" She tried to protest. He stopped in his tracks to look at her. "I…I have to make food for everyone…"

His eyes widened a bit in surprise, but then he continued to smile again. "Baka. That's been taken care of. Now just come with me. Trust me."

A little part of her felt disappointed that her friends wouldn't be munching on her pastries, but then again she felt _so damn tired_ and she didn't even bother to protest to Tadashi taking her away, out of the kitchen, into the garden, she didn't know where.

Suddenly he stopped, and she realized the sun wasn't beating down on her anymore. She looked up, and saw that they were under a tree. Even with the tiredness clouding her mind, she still got to laugh a little. "Typical of Tadashi."

He turned to look at her and smiled that cute, cheeky grin of his. He sat down, leaning on the tree trunk, and looked above. "This is where I go when I want to be alone."

For a moment she was confused. She raised an eyebrow at him. "And you took me here why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It seemed right."

Akira sighed, and took a seat beside him. "Typical of Tadashi," she whispered again, feeling an arm wrap around her shoulder, pulling her closer. She lay her head on his shoulder, basking in his presence. Her relationship with Tadashi really was weird; they seemed to be dating, but he had never heard him tell her he loved her. Or even liked her. Just that he liked her _cooking_.

And they had never even kissed, either; did that count for a relationship? She didn't know how he saw whatever they had and it was too embarrassing to ask.

She looked up into his eyes, and he stared back. She could see he was wondering as to why she would just randomly stare, but she didn't know why, either.

And then it dawned on her that she probably looked so messed up after all that crying she did. She quickly continued to lay her head on his shoulder, making sure her bangs hid her swollen eyes. Her eyes fluttered. It was just so comfortable here, around Tadashi…Soon she found herself off, off to dreamland.

* * *

Consciousness was calling her. But at least for a while, she got to forget her current predicament.

Akira scratched at her eyes, and opened them.

"Ahh!" She screamed, surprised to see Tadashi staring at her, and _so close_. She probably seemed so stupid to him; ugh, why did she have to be so…so…_panicky_?

"Tadashi, you scared me," she said, trying to look unfazed. She sat up properly, surprised to find that she was in the greenhouse. And that no one else was there. "What time is it? Where's everyone?"

"It's almost four-thirty," Tadashi replied, scratching his head. "I thought I'd let you sleep a while longer."

"Baka!" She screamed, hitting him on the head. "My driver must be so worried." And then she remembered…"Oh right, he went for a day off…I guess I'm walking home…" She got to her feet and fixed her appearance a little. She picked up her handbag off of her armchair when Tadashi stopped her.

"Hey, instead of you walking…maybe you'd want a ride on my motorcycle?" he asked sheepishly.

* * *

She could never say no to him.

They rode through town, the wind trying to pry their clothes off. Akira was glad she had her hair short – having long hair in such strong wind would have been a bother, both to her and Tadashi.

"Make a right here," she said.

She could see the smile in his voice. "I know. I've been here, remember?"

She blushed. How could she forget? Of course all of her friends had been to her house.

He stopped directly in front of her house, and the motorcycle engine died out. Akira got off and removed the helmet from her head. "Here, thanks," she said, handing it to him.

"Yeah, sure," he said, taking it from her. He looked her in the eyes. "I guess this is goodbye for today, huh?"

She could feel her cheeks reddening. She had to get away. "Yeah, I guess. Thanks for the ride. Bye!" Smiling and waving, she walked away and into her house.

"Yeah, bye," Tadashi whispered, mostly to himself. He was just relieved to see her smiling again.

She fished the house key out of her bag, knowing it wasn't necessary. Soon enough, the doors opened and the maids were bowing down. "Good evening, Akira-sama!"

"Good afternoon," she greeted them back.

"Akira-sama, the master has left you a message on the answering machine," one of them informed her. Master? Her father? Images of a faceless man flooded her thoughts again, and she walked up to the answering machine, pressing the _Messages_ button and waiting for her father's message to start playing.

"_Akira, dear. I sent you a few pictures of the __Leggièris and I. You'll see Felicien there too, so be sure to open your e-mail! Much love, daddy_."

She decided to call back. She waited and waited, until the answering machine told her her dad wasn't around. _Please leave a message after the beep._ She sighed. _Beeeeeep._ "Hey, dad. I'll check them out later. Miss you and mom. Bye."

She opened her laptop on the kitchen table, and opened her e-mail. Sure enough, there was a new e-mail from her father, with photos attached. She opened them and saw her father with two men. One of them, she knew all too well – it was Samuel Leggièri. She stared at the other man, knowing it was Felicien. But somehow he looked familiar to her…

"Shit!" She screamed, then excused herself. She now knew why he looked so familiar! He was that guy she bumped into in their company's office!

_Akira walked hurriedly. Her dad had called, telling her that he and her mom had come to Japan, and that she should come immediately, for they had a business meeting. Her parents had always included her in their business meetings (the ones in Japan, anyway), and it made her feel good to know they cared what she thought._

_She accidentally bumped into someone, making him drop his bag. _

"_Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, embarrassed, picking his bag up and handing it to him. He snatched them from her hands, sneering at her. "Watch where you're going, woman." And he walked away, just like that._

She shuddered at the memory. She was getting married to that guy? That stupid, arrogant guy? The guy who was making her grades drop? The guy who had chosen her to be _promised_ to him, wanting to ruin her life? She looked around the room, looking for something to comfort her. Her eyes passed the liquor cabinet, and she decided to stare at it a while longer. _Really?_

She opened it. Wine, mostly limited-editions and imported ones bought by her parents. And there was the usual vodka, some of them she bought for herself, just for fun. She brought out the strawberry flavored one – that had always tasted the best.

She walked toward another cabinet, about to get a shot glass. But then again, what for? It would only be her drinking.

Taking a bottle opener, she popped the cap off easily.

Was she really going to do this?

Yes, she was.

She threw her head back and took a swig.

**A/N: There! Promised?, chapter 11. Finally. :) This came out a lot longer than I expected. =)) Special thanks to **_**61wisampa**_** for reviewing to my author's note! It made me feel good. I'll definitely finish this story for you. :)**

**Review? :)**


	13. XII

**So sorry, guys. Our third quarter exams just ended. I was supposed to update this last Friday, but then my mom went and banned use of the internet. Ugh. So I just started writing today.**

**But wait, I just wanna share. Before the Christmas break, the top ten of the freshman students had to take an exam – a scholarship exam. The five who will get the highest scores will become scholars of the school, and 100% off our tuition fee. And guess what? I'm now a scholar of my school! Just like my sister ;) Yeaay!**

**61wisampa – of course Tadashi's better! And yeah, I guess. I cried when I dropped to eighth place, too. Thank you for reviewing!**

**KiNoMoTo18 – Thank you! I'm 13, turning 14 sa August. :)**

**Now, there's gonna be some…language in the chapter, so here I am, warning you guys.**

**Now on to the story!

* * *

**

Tadashi rode his bike onto their front lawn, and as always, the garage's steel doors raised for him. He stopped in his usual spot, beside his mother's Porsche, stepped on the brakes, and listened as the soft whirr of the engine faded.

But instead of getting off the bike, he continued to sit there, repeating the scenes of the afternoon in his head. He found himself smiling, and laughed at how simple-minded he was being. He was happy, that was just it. And we all know why – Akira. Simply having been there with her, comforting her, holding her in his arms – it felt so natural, and he didn't know why. Watching her sleep – she was so beautiful. Her face was peaceful, and he liked seeing her that way, instead of unhappy and troubled like she was for the last couple of days. His eyebrows wrinkled as he wondered about what problem she might be having. "Shit," he muttered under his breath. "I didn't even try to ask." He smacked himself in the forehead, feeling horrible about himself.

"And who might you be talking to?"

He turned and saw his mother, in a fitted lilac dress, hands on her hips and an eyebrow cocked. "And why are you still there, I thought you came home a while ago."

"Oh, uh, yeah, umm…" He looked up at his mother, more suspicious than ever. "No one – yeah, that's right. Don't mind me!" and he flashed her his usual grin, hoping no more questions would be asked.

She continued to stare for a while more, then sighed and turned around. "If you say so. Dinner's on the table." And she went on her way.

Tadashi waited a while until she was out of sight, and sighed to himself. "Thank God." He got off the bike, and heard a light tinkling sound – _what was that?_ He looked down and saw something glint in the light, somewhere in the metallic tangle of the wheels. He kneeled down and looked at the object, silver and shining. Taking it, he decided to go to the dining room – maybe he could join his mother for dinner.

Walking down the large hallways, he stared at the keychain. It was familiar, like he already saw it somewhere else before. But who owned it? He stopped in his tracks, and stared at the long table, his seat the only one with a plate left. _Maybe she's still working_, he thought, and pondered if he should eat dinner.

"I'm skipping dinner," he announced, just so that the maids knew to clean up.

"Yes, Tadashi-sama," they replied from the kitchen, and he thanked them and walked up the large staircase, turning the keychain around in his fingers, still on the mystery of it.

He opened the door to his bedroom, and was surprised to see that it was still as messy as it was the morning he left it. _Maybe the maids haven't done their rounds? _he thought, plopping down on his bed, not really caring about what was on it.

He raised the keychain, staring at it a while longer. Whose was it? Why was it so familiar? It was a simple, yet beautiful thing, a lone flower the main attraction.

He shot up into a sitting position, suddenly knowing why it looked so familiar. _It's Akira's!_ he thought. He had always seen the chain hanging from her bag – maybe it fell? Or whatever. He lay back, thinking of what he would do with it. Was tomorrow too late to return it? Wait – tomorrow was a Saturday – no school. Was right now too early to return it? If he went right now, would she think it was stalker-ish of him? But he had a reason to go – to return the keychain. And besides, it wasn't like he had better things to do…

He sat up, stared at himself at the mirror for a while, softly brushing his dark hair with his fingers. He walked down the stairs, walking to the telephone. He dialled Akira's home, and waited.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Todou residence. I' m not here right now, so please just leave a message after the beep! _Akira's voice.

_Beeeeeeep._

What was he going to say? He smacked himself again, mentally calling himself stupid for not even thinking of what he was going to say first.

"Umm, hey, Akira. It's Tadashi. I'm coming over, okay?"

* * *

She stared at the picture on her laptop screen, staring at the man she was going to marry. "You stupid, arrogant, son of a bitch," she said, staring at Felicien. "This is your fauuuuult," she drawled on, swaying in her seat. She grabbed hold of the table and sat herself properly, straightening up. "You're the reason I ranked low, you're the reason I might not be in the SA next year, you're the reason I'm so unhappy." She could feel tears pool in her eyes, and she wiped them away, feeling pathetic. She stared at the picture again, her frustration quickly turning into anger. He didn't even bother to smile for the camera. "You didn't even bother to smile!" She screamed, feeling the need to voice her thoughts. "But then again if you smiled I might've gotten angrier at your face, so I guess what you did was acceptable," she spoke to the un-smiling Felicien, taking another swig out of the bottle. This time, it was blueberry. She had to admit, she was wrong. Blueberry tasted _waaaaay_ better than strawberry.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Riiiiing._

"So noisy, go straight to voicemail, you stupid phone."

She could hear whoever called her leave a message, such a short message.

"Akira-sama, you have voicemail," one of the maids told her, peering at her from the doorway.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she said, waving the maid off.

"S-sorry," the maid stuttered, scurrying off.

Akira sighed. She didn't mean to be mean. Or to scare her _nice, nice_ maids away, for that matter.

* * *

Tadashi rode on his motorbike, his helmet protecting his hurriedly-fixed hair. The streetlights created a sort of glow around him, making him feel like he was somewhere ethereal, like he was some sort of prince on some sort of honourable mission to save the princess. Except that, instead of being on a horse, or a dragon, or whatever else princes rode on in fairytales, he was on his motorbike, with a helmet protecting his hair from getting messy.

Yes, Tadashi was _definitely_ a different kind of prince.

* * *

Akira stumbled her way to the liquor cabinet. She was determined to keep drinking until she forgot about her grades, about Felicien, about a certain green-haired guy she couldn't get her eyes off…

_Finally._ She stood in front of the cabinet, opening it choosing a bottle of green vodka. She grabbed the bottle opener from the table, popped the cap off, and gulped a third of it in one swig.

"Mm, that's good," she commented. The drinks just seemed to taste better and better to her, and she didn't even have to mix them with anything.

Who knew Sakura had such good taste in alcohol?

She stumbled back to her seat, in front of her laptop and beside her bag. She thought of thanking Sakura for convincing her to buy drinks that day, and before thinking it over, she searched for her phone. She expected it to be in her pocket, but it wasn't there…_Must be in my bag_, she thought, opening her bag up. A piece of paper fell out of her bag, and she picked it up, curious.

Numbers, numbers, numbers. Her vision blurred and nothing registered. She squinted her eyes, and she finally understood. These were the results of her midterm exams. Someone probably slipped it in her bag for her, seeing as she was too busy sleeping…

Her overall grade?

Written in big, bold, red letters:

85%

She used to be a 95.

She could feel her vision blurring again, until all she could see was a blur of colors. She could feel her tears wet the paper she held, and she placed it on the table, buried her head in her hands and started to cry.

"Why?" she screamed. "Why me? Why him? Why am I being so melodramatic?" And she cried and cried and cried.

Suddenly her chest tightened, and she felt like she was choking, like she was being strangled by an invisible force. She got her breath back, but couldn't quite catch it again. _No…no_, she thought, _not now_. But the feeling didn't go away, even when she prayed and willed it to. She started to panic – maybe she was dying – maybe she had taken too much alcohol – maybe this was God taking her, sparing her from getting married against her will –

She pushed herself up off the counter with shaky arms, knocking over her some bottles, and they fell to the floor with a loud crash, followed by another, and the sounds seemed far away, making her world spin more and more. Her vision blurred, but she knew she had to do something. Call the maids? The hospital? 911?

She found herself falling, sliding down the counter, the feeling of terror and death staying. And she sat there, trying to catch her breath, unable to call for help.

* * *

Tadashi stepped on the brakes, stopping right in front of Akira's house. Surely no one would care at this hour…

The engine died down, and he slowly walked to the front door, taking his sweet time. He took a deep breath, and finally, rang the bell.

_Ding doooong._

He waited, but nobody answered.

_Ding dooooong._

"Hello, anybody home?"

The door opened, and he jumped a little. He calmed down, seeing it was only a maid. "Oh, you startled me." He laughed a little, then asked, "Is Akira here?"

The maid, her face one of worry, looked like she didn't know what to do. Was she going to let him in, or not?

"Tadashi-sama, I don't think…well…" She swallowed. What was she supposed to do? She didn't know if she should tell; should she? Okay, maybe not. "Akira-sama…I think…is pretty busy right now – "

_Crash._

"What was that?" Tadashi tried to get a better view of the inside of the house, but the maid moved, stalling him. "I really don't think you should be here right now, Tadashi-sama."

"But – "

_Crash._

"Oh my," the maid gasped.

He could hear the commotion inside. "What's going on?" He panicked. What was happening?

A second maid came along. "Karin-chan," she called, beckoning to the maid. "Akira-sama – I don't know what's wrong. You should go!"

The maid 'Karin-chan' ran along, making her way into what Tadashi knew was the kitchen.

"Tadashi-sama!" the second maid gasped, shocked and unaware that he was there the whole time.

"What's wrong? Can I come in?"

"Umm…" she looked around, uncertain. "I don't know…"

"Please," he pleaded, and the second maid sighed and made room. He looked so sincere, and it wasn't like he would leave once she told him he couldn't.

"Thank you," he said, making his way to the kitchen.

The large sala and the bright lights blackened his vision for a while, but he walked on, determined to know what was going on. What were those crashes? Why wouldn't they let him in in the first place?

He made a right, and saw the doorway of the kitchen was open.

What he saw chilled him to the bone.

Spilled vodka and broken glass scattered the floor. Akira sat there, too, leaning on the kitchen counter, knees to her chest, struggling to breathe. Karin-chan sat beside her, holding her hand, trying to help her.

"Am – am I dying?" she questioned, her chest going up and down so fast, he didn't know it was possible.

"No, it's just the usual. Calm down, Akira-sama. Have you been taking your pills?"

Akira shook her head, letting out a quiet "no."

"When was the last time you've taken them?"

"A – a long, long time ago," she said between breaths.

"Okay," Karin-chan nodded, trying to sympathize. "Umm – oh, I don't remember, this hasn't happened in a long time – paper bag or gum?"

"P-Paper bag," Akira let out, still not quite catching her breath.

"Okay, wait." Karin-chan opened a drawer on the counter, revealing a paper bag, and handing it to Akira. She tried to breathe slowly into it, trying to calm her breathing. Over and over and over, and Tadashi stayed frozen on the spot, unable to move, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Soon, Akira's breathing seemed better. Labored, but she definitely wasn't hyperventilating anymore. She lay her head back on the counter, closing her eyes, willing herself to breathe normally. "Thank you, Karin-chan," Karin squeezed her hand, and looked up.

"Tadashi-sama!" she gasped, surprised to see him in the doorway.

"Is – is she okay?"

"Yes, yes, don't worry. It's just – just another panic attack."

His mind was unable to understand. "P-Panic attack?"

"Yes." Karin-chan's expression turned grim. "I didn't know her friends did not know. She's had it since childhood, but she hasn't been having it in – in years," she sighed.

"Oh." He didn't know that. He guessed the others didn't, either. Maybe Akira never told anyone. "She'll be okay, right?"

"Yes, don't worry," she reassured him, standing up and walking over. He let out a breath, relieved. "That's great."

He surveyed the room, raising an eyebrow. "Vodka bottles? Who's been drinking?"

"Akira has," Karin replied, sighing once again. "I don't know why. She's been crying and screaming and we don't know why."

Tadashi stared at her small form on the counter, her breathing still heavy. "Can – can I stay?" He suddenly regretted asking, not knowing why he even did. What was he going to stay for? "I – I'll take care of her."

Karin smiled his way, "I'm glad Akira-sama has such good friends. Please bring her upstairs, I'll clean up soon."

"Thank you," Tadashi told her, grateful. Karin left, leaving only the two in the room.

"Akira?" He spoke, half-hoping she would answer, half-hoping she wouldn't.

She opened an eye, then the other. She sat up properly, blinking, making sure she wasn't seeing things wrong. "Tadashi?"

**I wasn't supposed to end it there, but I'd written so much already. I'll try to update next week, our school's football team (which I'm part of) has games this weekend. Review?**


	14. XIII

**A/N: Late as always, and you guys are probably already so sick of me and my excuses. Sorry, just sorry. But I have good news! I finished my freshman year top four overall. That's fourth over two hundred fifteen students. :D I'm sure there are people there who are doing better, but I'm just so happy and contented with that. Also, my conduct grade's 100.18, which proved that, yes, card grades actually _can_ go over 100.**

**I spent most of English and Theology of last quarter writing this on a notebook. I never typed it down because I didn't think it was finished, but apparently I had already written the whole chapter. How stupid can someone get, ugh. Okay, this is me shutting up and giving you chapter fourteen ~**

* * *

"Tadashi?"

No, no, it wasn't him. It couldn't be him. She was just confused, just imagining him standing there, his hair slightly dishevelled and looking absolutely _handsome_…Surely it was just a figment of her imagination…

…But he was coming closer, concern clouding his eyes. "Akira? Are you okay?"

His arms reached out to help her, and she pushed him away. He wasn't real, no…she ran to the cabinet, still open, as if welcoming her. Her hands were quick, looking for something, anything that would make her feel better…_damn_, she thought as she pushed through beer bottles (beer was something she had never liked), _I must be really crazy or just really drunk to make Tadashi appear in front of me. _It didn't surprise her that she was thinking of Tadashi; it just really shocked her to see her thoughts fabricated, right in front of her eyes.

Suddenly, there it was. A lone bottle of flavored vodka, and lemon flavored at that. It comforted her to know there was still one left, one to make the illusion-Tadashi go away…

She popped the cap open and took a swig, finding comfort in the burning feeling it gave her throat as she thirstily gulped it down. She was about to take another swig when someone took hold of her arm, keeping Akira away an arm's length from the bottle. She tried to pull away, but whoever it was had a vice-like grip. She turned to look at whoever it was, surprised to see it was _still_ Tadashi. Her eyes bulged out of their sockets before she regained her composure, pretending to be unfazed of the fact that alcohol didn't make illusion-Tadashi go away. "What are you still doing here," she spat at him, rolling her eyes, and secretly feeling stupid for talking to something that wasn't _real_. "And when did you get so strong," she questioned as she continued her attempts at pulling away. Pulling away from something that wasn't _real_. She wondered how the hell an illusion could be keeping a hold on her. She continued to throw a fit, desperately trying to pull away, until she decided that, fine, she was defeated, and went for giving him an I'll-kill-you stare instead. She expected him to stare her down the same way, to have a staring contest with the guy, but instead he laughed softly, as if something was _funny_, slowly releasing his hold on her. She stuck her tongue out at him, secretly glad that he didn't make her admit defeat out loud. It would hurt her pride too much. She moved away and turned her back on him, taking another swig out of the bottle.

It was quiet for a few minutes. Akira, who hadn't even realized the silence that had settled over the room, pouted in surprise. Was illusion-Tadashi gone? She didn't know if she would be upset or happy that he was gone…

She looked back at her shoulder. Illusion-Tadashi was still standing there, in the same place he'd left her, giving him a cheeky grin, as if he found something about her laughable. She groaned in annoyance, turning back and cursing under her breath. The illusion gave off a short little illusioned-laugh, and it annoyed her more. She thought she would be sad if she didn't find Tadashi there, but instead he irritated her, from his smile to his obnoxious laugh, down to the way he stared and smiled at her. It was seriously getting on her nerves.

She took another swig of the bottle as he broke the silence. "Is it really right to be drinking like that after a panic attack?"

"And you care, why?" she turned around and leant against the counter, right across from him on the table, an eyebrow raised. "It's an attack, not…" she fumbled around with words, "well, not a disease where I'm not allowed to drink." He laughed again, and she turned an angle, just so that he didn't see the embarrassed blush that made its way up her face.

After calming down, she made a sudden turn, turning to the Tadashi who was still standing there. "Shoo," she said pointedly, pointing to the door, sinking to one hip. "Why aren't you vanishing before my eyes?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You don't think I'm real?" It returned to her, feigning hurt.

"No," she replied quickly, not skipping a beat. "So shoo, go away!" She took another swig out of the bottle, now almost empty. Tadashi didn't move, though, he just stood there staring at her, on his face an expression of hurt. His lips were pouted just the slightest bit. Akira put her bottle down and stared him down with the same energy, enthusiastically sending him dirty looks, hoping it would make him go away. It went on that way for minutes, until she finally got bored.

"Fine," she fake-sighed, dropping her gaze. She looked back at the illusion-Tadashi, a new gleam in her eyes. She stared at him viciously, and instantly he knew that he would regret what would happen next.

"Fine," she repeated. "If you're real… Drink with me."

* * *

"I don't think this is a good idea," Tadashi announced, scratching his head. Akira dragged him nearer to her side of the table by the hand.

"Of course it is! Get your own shotglass over there," she pointed to another cabinet, then went back to looking for more vodka. "And one for me too, of course." She emerged from another cabinet with two bottles of vodka, one lime flavored, and the other clear. He also noticed that she had a sachet of punch mix.

"Haven't you already drunk enough? And what's the punch for?" Tadashi asked, putting the glasses down and taking a seat.

"No. I believe one can drink as much as he or she wants," she smirked, then looked at the punch mix and back at him. "Chaser," she informed him teasingly, taking a seat beside him. "You might need it."

"What, you don't think I'm strong enough? To handle vodka? Really?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I know you're not," she replied, unfazed by his displeasure and sticking her tongue out at him.

"Bring it on! Let me prove you wrong," he smiled, the same vicious gleam in his eye.

* * *

"HAHAHAHA!" Akira laughed, the sound of it reverbating around the house. "Why was that joke so funny? It wasn't that funny!" she contradicted herself, laughing some more.

"Then why are you laughing?" Tadashi laughed with her. She was just so cute.

"Because I'm drunk!" She pointed at him, a thin finger on his chest. "You, sir, are not." Tadashi laughed and poured himself another glass, gulping it down, not following it up with the punch she had prepared. He looked her straight in the eye, serious. "I'm working on it."

"No you're noooot," she slurred. She stood up and tripped on her own feet before she even got to take a step. "Whoa!" Tadashi caught her, and looked down at her concernedly. "Careful there," he told her, and she looked up to see his big, brown eyes, looking straight into hers. Akira continued staring, not listening to the rational part of her brain that told her _staring was rude_, not letting her gaze leave the depths of his brown eyes. Tadashi, in his head, compared her change in look to a look a girl would give a toy she really wanted. Was Tadashi the toy Akira really wanted?

_Tadashi, stop with the nonsense thoughts!_ he mentally scolded himself, trying to look away, but he couldn't find the will in him to. He carefully sat her back down on her chair, their gazes fixed on each other. Why was she staring? Why couldn't he look away?

Suddenly Akira's hand was on his cheek, fingers grazing his creamy skin. "Akira?" He asked, unsure of what she was trying to do. His heartbeat fastened its pace, and he felt stupid for feeling so much. Akira's fingers continued to move past his cheek, looking into his eyes again. "You have beautiful eyes," she told him, her fingers moving upward to push the bangs out of his eyes.

"Umm, thanks?"

Akira laughed nervously, looking away and pulling her fingers away. Tadashi wanted them to stay on his cheek a little longer, but he knew he couldn't ask for that. Not while he could take advantage of her, not while she was drunk.

Akira folded her arms on the counter, laying her head on it, her eyes slowly closing. "I'm sleepy…" she whispered, trying to stifle a yawn with the back of her hand.

Tadashi stood up right away, standing her up gently. "Let's get you upstairs." He picked her up bridal style, and was surprised at how light she was.

He walked out of the room and toward the stairway. She unconsciously wound her arms around his neck. "You smell good," she drawled, snuggling closer to his chest. Tadashi found himself smiling. He started up the steps of the large, Victorian-style stairway.

"I wish it was always like this," she murmured against his clothes. Tadashi felt his cheeks redden, when she spoke again. "I wish I was always with you like this." He reached the final step of the stairs and turned right, where he knew her room was.

"I wish we were closer…" she drawled on, but he didn't hear her, distracted as he attempted to open the door. He successfully turned the knob and pushed the door open with his knee. He looked around him, taking in his surroundings. Her room looked the same as always. Large dresser. Large mirror on the wall. Walk-in closet to the right. A bulletin board of photos hanging on the wall. Her queen-sized bed, amidst all the things.

"I wish schools and airline companies kind of worked together," she said drunkenly in a voice higher by an octave. Tadashi looked down at her, laughing. He moved toward her bed. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

"If they were, maybe I would be engaged to you instead." He laughed at the nonsense – then blushed as it sunk in. Engaged? But wait – instead? Akira was engaged? _Instead?_

"Engaged? Instead? What?" He continued to mutter incoherent words, unconsciously setting her down gently into her bed. Akira breathed in the scent of her bed, curling up into a ball. "Akira?" He tried again. "What do you mean engaged?"

"I – I'm promised to…" her eyes started drooping, and he hurriedly sat by her bedside. "Promised to what, Akira? Or rather… who?"

"Fe–Felicien…" Her eyes still closed, she held out her hand, placing it on Tadashi's arm on the bed. Her eyes slowly opened, Akira's eyes hazy and sad, but a slight smile on her lips. "I wish I was promised to you instead. I wish we were closer."

"Why, aren't we close enough as it is?" Tadashi nervously laughed, not knowing what to say. Akira was engaged…to some random guy he didn't even know. He felt like the thought hadn't really sunk in, like he was in a state of denial. He didn't know how to react to it.

"No, we're not…" she stirred, voice still quiet, only a little louder than a whisper. Her eyes closed once again. "I don't even know what kind of relationship we have. Are we even in a relationship?" she asked, seeming to ponder over her own words.

Tadashi looked down, replaying her words in his head and trying to make sense of them. They didn't sound like Akira at all. The normal Akira was the Akira who hated his guts, who hit and threw things at him all the time. He didn't know if he should believe her…She was drunk, after all. She didn't know what she was saying…

But at the same time he wanted to believe what he knew Akira was saying. He was torn, confused, especially since he found out she was engaged…

Or was she?

"I mean, you haven't even kissed me yet."

His thoughts stopped, and he looked at her innocent form, cuddling at a pillow and making cute sounds. Did she just…?

He didn't know what he was doing. It was like his body moved by its own accord. He moved closer to her, until his face hovered inches above hers.

Her eyes opened. Her eyes were large, innocently looking at him as she had not just said what she had. "What're you doing?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious. He breathed in her scent, a scent of berries and vanilla, and looked into her eyes sincerely.

"Kissing you."

* * *

**A/N: The drinking in this fanfic is strictly for fanfic purposes. I strongly discourage drinking. It's not healthy at all. And it doesn't even taste good. Okay, maybe that's just me…I mean, I'm thirteen! But seriously, drinking's bad, okay.**

**Cliffy! Care to review?**


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